Overview

Dani Cohn and Mikey Tua Teen Pregnancy Hoax refers to a teenaged YouTube couple that spent a week convincing their family and followers that they were pregnant and getting married only to reveal that it was a prank.

Background

On May 3rd, 2010, Dani Cohn, age 15, joined YouTube and has gained over 1.2 million subscribers in nine years. Her Boyfriend Mikey Tua, age 16, joined YouTube on February 5th, 2015 and has garnered over 285,000 subscribers in four years. On April 11th, 2019, Mikey Tua^[2] tweeted, "Expecting 08/14/19 #manibaby" (shown below). The tweet gained 917 likes and 65 retweets in eight days.

Development

On April 11th, 2019, many Twitter users and followers of the couple on YouTuber were quick to react to the tweet suggesting that Cohn and Tua were expecting a baby. Twitter user @x_isella^[4] replied by saying, "yall better be pulling some type of justin & hailey shit. being preg at 15 is actually no joke. yall think yall are "ready" just bc yall have money 🤣🤣 this shit makes me sad seeing what our generation has come to. imagine all these young people who look up to yall. sad." (shown below, left). The tweet gained over 100 likes in eight days. That same day, Danielle Cohn^[3] followed up on Twitter and posted the same day, "8/14/19" (shown below, right) which gained 3,300 likes and 170 retweets in eight days.

Danielle Cohn^[1] also posted a photo of Tua kissing her stomach to Instagram which accumulated 847,900 likes in eight days (shown below).

The next day, Mickey Tua posted a video to YouTube in which the couple explain to their family and friends that Cohn is pregnant (shown below, left). The video garnered 3.5 million views, 60,000 likes and 20,000 dislikes in a week. The next day, Cohn posted part two of the saga to her channel which featured the couple getting married in Las Vegas (shown below, right). The video gained over three million views, 46,000 likes and 37,000 dislikes in six days.

On April 14th, Danielle Cohn^[5] tweeted, "#6 trending on youtube never made that page before wow. I am so happy to be committed to my best friend💛" (shown below). The tweet gained 800 likes in four days.

On April 16th, Mickey Tua uploaded the couple going to the doctors to check on the baby (shown below, left). The video gained 1.5 million views in three days. Finally, on April 18th, Cohn posted a video of the gender reveal party in which the couple announced that the whole thing was a prank. In the final segment of the video the couple explain that teen pregnancy is a serious matter. The video gained 879,000 views 21,000 likes and 47,000 dislikes (shown below, right).

That same day many Twitter users responded to the prank negatively. Twitter user @calmarrow^[8] tweeted, "'You’ve been PrAnkEd guys' Girl, the reality of how fucked up this is really gonna hit u hard if, God forbid, you struggle with infertility one day. 😔" (shown below, left). The tweet accumulated 150 likes in a day. @Emmamburke0408^[6] responded saying, "I would do anything to be pregnant as would many women out there who are struggling with serious issues. Whether it’s infertility, miscarriages, still births – so many awful situations and you’re joking about it! You should be ashamed, as should the adults around you. Grow up. 😤" (shown below, center). The tweet gained over 100 likes in a day. @qirI_qroups^[7] also responded saying, "this was nowhere okay, there is people who become homeless because they get pregnant at your age, or even worse things. you can't make fun of such a sensitive topic as this one and expect people to support you. i was one of the few people who didn't laugh at you and defended you" (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References